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Adam Thielen's Agent on Contract Holdout: 'Adam's Not That Type of Person'
February 20, 2019
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen's agent suggested Tuesday that a holdout may not be in store for his client.
According to ESPN.com's Courtney Cronin, Blake Baratz appeared on SKOR North and said: "Adam's not that type of person. I would never condone a player to hold out or be disruptive if it wasn't for a very valid reason, and [what's not] a valid reason, to me, is both sides working in good faith to come to a conclusion that makes sense for everybody."
Thielen signed a four-year, $19.2 million deal in 2017, meaning he is under contract through 2020.
The 28-year-old Thielen is coming off a career year, setting personal bests with 113 receptions for 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns in 2018. That came on the heels of a breakout 2017 in which he recorded 91 grabs for 1,276 yards and four touchdowns.
Thielen has been named to the Pro Bowl the past two seasons, and he has developed into one of the NFL's top wideouts despite going undrafted out of Minnesota State Mankato in 2013.
Based on how well Thielen played last season, Baratz believes the Vikings are willing to renegotiate and get his salary more in line with the NFL's best receivers:
"This team has a lot of really good things in place for it, and I know they want to take care of Adam, and I know they want Adam there, and I know they want to reward Adam. What exactly that looks like and when that happens, I can't speak to yet, but I'm cautiously optimistic that everyone will come around and do the right thing.
"There's not—no one's being greedy. Everyone understands the situation, and it's really in their court. He has a couple of years left on his deal, but he's earned a significant pay raise. Not to mention what he's done on the field, he might be one of the best people in the entire National Football League and represents the city and the organization and state, and, frankly, the entire region unbelievably. ...
"We're all hopeful that it'll get done."
Although the Vikings missed the playoffs last season after reaching the NFC Championship Game the previous campaign, Thielen thrived with quarterback Kirk Cousins taking over for Case Keenum.
Both Thielen and fellow wideout Stefon Diggs put up huge numbers with Cousins throwing them the ball, and that trio figures to be a major key to Minnesota's success moving forward.